


September When It Comes

by marginalia



Category: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares
Genre: Community: femslash06, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-04-04
Updated: 2006-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-06 18:17:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10341486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marginalia/pseuds/marginalia





	

When the Sisterhood split up in the fall Bridget went to Brown, Tibby went to NYU, Carmen went to Williams in spite of (or perhaps because of) herself, and Lena went to the Rhode Island School of Design.

It felt backwards to be leaving each other in September. They were moving apart, and they weren’t taking the Pants with them. “Summer only,” Carmen had said, stowing them away, and no one was about to argue with her. Bee’s necklaces would have to hold them together, even though they didn’t know if or when they would be back. Sure, there would be Thanksgiving and other holidays, but it wouldn't be the same. Being together wouldn't be the norm anymore; it would be the exception.

And so it was bound to happen that their worlds grew bigger, filling with new people who began to learn each girl's language, and though no one else held such a strong place in their history, the Septembers were no longer as closely tied to each other's futures. They had, if not strictly secrets, parts of themselves that they held close and quiet, not real enough to be seen yet in the light of each other.

After all, they had long supported each other in everything, and in a way each knew the others better than she knew herself, but she also knew how she expected each to be. Expectations did not always conform to reality. There was something precious and amazing in taking steps away from each other, in experimenting with who else they could be, though they would always have the safety net of the Sisterhood.

:::

"You've got to take up some space, girl," Annik's words echoed in Lena's ears as she went through her first days at RISD. She tried out new phrases, new ideas, new assertions of opinion, taking up space and no longer waiting in the shadows. She thought of how different this Lena was from the one so many summers ago in Greece, hiding behind her sketch pad and her language. "I don't want them to accept me only because of how I look," she wrote in her journal, a good luck gift from Effie. "But I guess I should give them the chance to like me for something else." It was like being in a play or one of Tibby's movies, trying on the role of a Lena who could talk to new people, surprising herself when the role turned out to be the truth. She made new friends, discovered new bands, and danced nights away with both. As hard as she played, she worked even harder, throwing herself into coursework, studying other techniques and developing her own. 

:::

The Sisterhood kept in touch better than could have been expected. Cell phones with free long distance, instant messages zinging across high speed dorm internet connections, and of course letters scrawled throughout boring classes kept them abreast of the basics. Thanksgiving and winter holidays were packed with happenings and hugs, stories that got lost in tangents and stories that were tangents to begin with. Certain names still were not spoken around Lena, and she found that she did not miss them. She had wondered vaguely if she would see Paul as Carmen's family grew larger and more complicated, but it didn't happen. Returning to Rhode Island, she did not feel as though anything had been lacking.

:::

Lena had brought a stack of old sketches, back from home, and late in January she began sorting through them. She was trying to make a clean start with the New Year, and better late than never. In the process, she came across last summer's sketch of Annik, and something about it made her stop and examine it. Impulsively, she hopped up from the floor and woke up her computer. She pulled up the Capitol Street School website, and saw that their spring break fell a week after RISD's. Excellent. As mid-March grew closer, she looked through her updated portfolio, trying to see it through Annik's eyes. She hoped she would be pleased.

Brushing off the inevitable family obligations, Lena borrowed her mother's car and got to campus just as the advanced figure drawing class was about to end. She paced, surprisingly nervous, until the students began to file out. Impatient, she slipped into the classroom where Annik was busy directing the monitor in clean-up. "Hey," Lena said. 

Annik looked up and almost immediately propelled herself across the room. Lena bent to hug her. "How are you? You look fantastic! Is that your portfolio? Do you have time to get coffee?"

Lena laughed, and answered the last question. "Yes, of course!" She wandered around the classroom and looked at new student work as the monitor and Annik finished up, then walked beside her to a quiet coffee shop just off campus. She watched Annik's hands on the wheels, rings flashing in the sun, and they talked companionably over coffee until Ari called seeking Lena, or perhaps just the car.

"Here," Annik jotted down her number on a napkin. "Any time, really. If I can't talk, I don't answer."

"Thanks!" Lena pocketed it, hugged her, and picked up her portfolio. "You may regret…"

"Never," Annik promised.

:::

"Sorry," Lena said. "I know it's late, but I'm waiting for the bus and no one else is answering. I'm no good at inventing conversations to fool people on the street." 

Annik laughed. "Not a problem."

"I'm on my way home from work. I took a job at a Greek restaurant, if you can believe it. Just for cash for things the scholarship doesn't cover. I don't dare tell my dad, though. He'll be irritatingly pleased by it." Lena chattered on about work, friends, and professors they had had in common. ("That one, he's just insane," Annik advised. "Best to just get through the quarter and not worry about it.") The ride back to campus flew by.

:::

One, two, three weekends in a row, and soon it became a tradition, Lena calling after her late shift, talking through the wait and the bus ride, and eventually quietly outside the door when her roommate was already asleep. They quickly moved past the teacher and student, the mentor and mentee. Lena was amazed at what she could share and learn, things outside of the world of the Sisterhood. Time fell away during calls, much like it did when she was drawing long poses, and sometimes when her roommate was gone she would rummage for her earpiece so she could talk and sketch at the same time. She drew their conversations, her history, Annik's stories, present and future. 

One night she told Annik about Kostos. "It's strange," she said. "Telling about him was once such a huge thing, but now. Now it's not the big story of my heart, you know? I'm not the girl he loved anymore. I'm not the girl who loved him." She fell silent, and they listened to each other breathe for a while. "What an odd thing, to not be waiting for the past anymore. I suppose it's time to move into the future." 

:::

Carmen was visiting for the weekend when she figured it out. She browsed through stacks of sketches and came across some of the late night conversations: heads bowed close together, Annik's face, her strong hands, the chair and all the complicated feelings around it.

"Were you going to tell us, Lenny?" she asked, then looked closer. "Does _she_ know?"

"I think she knows," Lena said. "Really, I know she does. I just didn't know what you." She stopped, unsure.

"Lena," Carmen said, "Did you really believe we wouldn't love someone who makes you so happy?"

Lena flushed. "I guess I should have given you more credit."

"I guess you should have," Carmen laughed, and embraced her. "Now. Tell me everything." She grabbed Lena by the hand and pulled her towards the door. "I'll buy the ice cream. All you have to do is talk."


End file.
